The present invention relates to irrigation sprinklers and especially to an irrigation sprinkler having a rapid change nozzle.
A variety of irrigation systems are used throughout the world or irrigating crops and groves. One common system used for irrigation is a sprinkler system having a plurality of sprinkler heads coming from a central water supply line for distributing water over a surface area. These systems may use a moving supply line for irrigating food crops, groves and the like. The sprinkler units typically have replaceable nozzles so that different nozzles may be selected and mounted in the sprinkler unit to achieve a desired range or rate of coverage or simply to replace a defective nozzle. An irrigation system may also have many different sprinkler units of the same type with each having different nozzles and it is sometimes desirable and necessary to change the nozzles often for a given area to obtain an optimum irrigation of an area of coverage. This requires maintaining different sprinkler nozzles and selecting the nozzle for a particular coverage after a sprinkler system is installed. Many current nozzles are removably attached to a sprinkler head in which the nozzle or a cover for the nozzle is threadedly attached which requires unscrewing a nozzle or cap for the nozzle, finding a replaceable nozzle, and attaching the new nozzles onto the sprinkler unit. This is sometimes difficult because the nozzle is positioned so it cannot be gripped easily to unscrew the nozzle or to simply pull out the nozzle in the case of a press-fitted nozzle.
The present invention is directed towards an irrigation sprinkler with a rapid change nozzle which can be snapped-in from the side of the sprinkler outlet and then unsnapped and removed.
In the past, there have been various types of improvements in removable sprinkler nozzles, as seen in the McKenzie U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,169 for a removable sprinkler nozzle in which the nozzle fits in a recessed seat and has a rotatable upper cover and a camming surface formed on the cover which extends down into engagement with the nozzle. The cam surface is shaped to push the nozzle at least partially out of its seat during rotation of the cover to allow a user to be able to grip the nozzle and complete its removal by pulling outward on the nozzle. The cover also includes a locking rib which can be brought to bear against the nozzle when the nozzle is fully received in its seat to help retain the nozzle in place. In the Scott et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,962, a sprinkler unit has a nozzle in which the sprinkler body has an outlet having a nozzle receiving socket for a removable nozzle mounted in the sprinkler outlet. The lodging device in the socket is used for latching engagement with the nozzle for retaining the nozzle in the socket. In the Hart U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,453, a quick disconnect nozzle for an irrigation sprinkler is fitted with a screw threaded connection to the sprinkler outlet. The Anuskiewicz U.S. Pat. No. 6,871,795 is an irrigation sprinkler with an easily removable nozzle.
The present rapid change nozzle is inserted from the side of the sprinkler body outlet and uses a lever action to force the nozzle passageway against the outlet passageway and against an O-ring seal and is firmly snapped in place.